Vice President Sara Duterte described Isabela 6th District Representative Faustino “Bojie” Dy III—who took over the House seat from former Speaker Martin Romualdez—as a kind and respectful individual. However, she pointed out that Dy’s political loyalties are aligned with the group led by Romualdez and the influential Albano family of Isabela.
Duterte emphasized that the relationship is both political and familial. Isabela Governor Rodito Albano is the brother of Rep. Antonio “Tonypet” Albano and the husband of former Davao City 2nd District Representative Mylene Garcia-Albano.
“Kasi si Martin Romualdez, malapit yan siya kay Tonypet Albano. Si Tonypet Albano, kapatid yan ni Rodito Albano. Si Rodito Albano, yan yung governor ng Isabela. Si Congressman Dy, lagi yan nakadikit kay Rodito Albano. Lagi yan siyang, hindi siya lagi yung number one. Lagi siyang number two diyan sa Isabela dahil nakadikit na siya kay Rodito Albano. Ganyan kabait yung tao na ’yan. Kaya yung grupo na ’yan, sila din yun. Martin Romualdez din yan,” she said.
“Si Rodito Albano, ang… Bakit ko nasabi may connection si Rodito Albano at si Martin Romualdez?”
According to Duterte, the connection between these figures became more apparent during the 2025 Local and National Midterm Elections when Rodito Albano allegedly supported the congressional bid of Javi Campos in Davao City’s 2nd District—supposedly upon the encouragement of Romualdez.
Campos, a former member of the Duterte-backed Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod (HTL), shifted allegiance to the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. He ultimately lost the race to Omar Vincent Duterte, son of Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte and grandson of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte claimed the move was part of a deliberate attempt by Romualdez’s camp to gain a political foothold in Davao City.
“Si Rodito Albano ang nagpatakbo kay Javi Campos. Sinabihan niya si Vincent Garcia (former Second District congressman) na si Javi ang tatakbo sa Second District dahil gusto ni Martin Romualdez magkaroon ng distrito sa loob ng Davao City. Kaya doon kami sa partido namin lumaban,” she explained.
“Kasi ang sinasabi namin, wala naman problema eh kung tayo lang dito sa Davao City. Pero bakit nakikialam si Rodito Albano at si Martin Romualdez sa Davao City? Bakit kailangan nila magkaroon ng distrito dito sa loob? Yan ang connection nilang lahat. Si Congressman Dy ay nasa ilalim ni Rodito Albano—ni Martin Romualdez.”
Duterte further revealed that former Davao City 2nd District Rep. Vincent Garcia was initially intended to be their camp’s official candidate for the 2025 elections. She said that during the finalization of their political slate in January 2024, she was asked to convince Garcia to run for his final term.
However, according to the vice president, Garcia declined to speak with her before the filing deadline for the certificate of candidacy (CoC)—effectively withdrawing from the race.
